Monday, 5 May 2014

Winnie-the-Pooh Country

Hartfield Lych Gate

Following the Disneyfication of
Winnie-the-Pooh in recent years most people in the wider world have no idea
that the stories were largely set in Ashdown
Forest in Sussex.With onset of bluebell season and all the
trees sporting new growth I thought that the girls would enjoy walking around
the area in which the stories were set.

Hartfield Church

We began our walk in Hartfield,
the small village now seemingly forever associated with the bear of little
brain.We left the charms of the village
for the end of the walk, heading first to the church of St Mary
the Virgin.The entrance wasn’t obvious
and is found through a most unusual lych gate.I couldn’t quite decide whether the house attached happened to be part
of the gate or the other way around.

Wrecked Hut

Hartfield church has an unusually
tall spire and the golden clock sparkled in the warm April sunshine.Inside the church was rather unusual – all
the pews had been removed and replaced by moveable chairs.In a way I thought this were rather sad, but
I suppose that the church then has a multitude of uses as a community space
just by moving the chairs around.Pews
these days are valuable too, so I don’t doubt that a fair price was achieved by
selling them off.We had a good look
around inside the church & the stained glass was particularly eye-catching.

Withyam Rectory

Once we had had a good scout
around the church we headed on our way across the fields towards Withyam
following the High Weald Landscape Trail, which I had previously walked a few
years ago.The ground across many of the
fields was pretty boggy in places, despite the recent spell of good
weather.When we reached the first big
bridge the girls were convinced it was the famous Poohsticks bridge.Alas they were to be disappointed for I had
saved that until almost the end of the walk.

Withyam Church

As we passed through the wood
just beyond though we found one of those things that set my girls’ imagination
going.It was a rather strange little
derelict building that was starting to fall apart.Strange, because we couldn’t work out what it
was for?It was rather more substantial
than you might think for such a remote location.

De La Warr Tomb

Just beyond was the church at
Withyam, a rather more substantial church than it looked from our
approach.In contrast to Hartfield, this
church had a squat tower and looked small, but stepping inside was a
revelation.Far bigger than the frontage
suggested this was a much more traditional looking church with a full set of
pews in place.While we were there a
couple of old ladies came along to decorate the church for Easter. They took a shine to the girls and gave them a
treasure trail to do so that they could explore the finer details of the
church.They were in their element,
writing down all the answers to the questions as they were quizzed about the stained
glass windows, artwork and historical features of the church. Of particular prominence was the family vault
in the chapel at the far corner in the chapel of Earl De La Warr. This vault is the family tomb, including the
famous gardener Vita Sackville-West, whose remains are said to be contained in
an inkpot within the tomb.

Five Hundred Acre Wood

After a long time exploring the
church we headed onwards, following the route of another long distance trail,
this time the Wealdway.This is one I
have yet to do any more than one section of – I think eventually it will come
towards the top of projects left to do.Certainly
the short section into the Five Hundred Acre wood was promising. This wood is of course the one that the
Hundred Acre Wood was to become in the Pooh stories.On the way we passed a long line of cottages
that presumably were once the domain of forest workers. Now I am not sure who might live there, but it
certainly is a bit of a lonely spot so you would have to get on with your
neighbours.

Waiting For Pooh Sticks

The walk through the woods was
pleasant if unremarkable. By now the
children were getting impatient for the Poohsticks bridge and a couple more
went by without it being the real one. We
crossed a rather busy road, which wasn’t a very pleasant experience as we had
to walk about a hundred metres alongside the traffic before thankfully
disappearing into the countryside once again.After a couple of false alarms we finally reached the bridge and the
girls were thrilled to have it all to themselves.

Cuckoo Flowers

The bridge has been rebuilt
recently and is said to resemble the illustrations in the book far more than
the previous version, which A.A. Milne would have used when coming up with the
idea for the story. His residence was a
nearby farm, which incidentally was the same that the Rolling Stones founder
Brian Jones drowned in the swimming pool.

Looking Back at Ashdown Forest

The girls knew what to do without
any second bidding.They had a couple of
games before other children came to join them. Satisfied that they had taken part in one of
those age old children’s games at the epicentre of Poohsticks the girls were
happy to move on, spurred on by the prospect of a cup of tea at The House at
Pooh Corner. The path back to Hartfield
village is clearly a well-trodden one, for the signage was unusually good all
the way back to the village.By now we
had well and truly lost the sunshine as clouds had rolled in.This did not diminish the views back across Ashdown Forest though – they were still very
special.

The House at Pooh Corner

Back in Hartfield we did go to
the House at Pooh Corner.Surprisingly
for me that is the first time I have ever been inside. It was full of Pooh paraphernalia, which the
girls loved.By now though we were all
rather more interested in the cup of tea – it was very welcome after our walk
though the woods. Since the walk both my girls have rediscovered Winnie-the-Pooh and not in a Disney way, which makes me feel rather good...

This walk appears as no.9 in Pathfinder Guide no.24 Surrey and Sussex and also walk no.13 in Pathfinder Guide no.67 East Sussex and the South Downs.

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